Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma goes GREEN. This is a place for Legal Aid staff to contribute to our firm-wide greening! Let us know what your office is doing, make a suggestion, comment on suggestions and generally pitch in on the effort.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

TLO Green office committee: Notes from August 11th meeting

a.Judy reported on colored paper. She said that pastel paper has very little environmental impact with regard to recycling. Neon colored paper, however, is viewed as detrimental. Neta will stop ordering neon colored post-it notes.

b.Judy also said that manila envelopes with metal clasps present a problem because of the clasps. We decided to stop ordering envelopes with clasps.

c.Adrienne asked if we could get permanent recycling receptacles, rather than using cardboard boxes. Scott said he would bring an extra recycling bin from home and buy another one.

d.Adrienne also asked for a box cutter, so she can break down cardboard boxes. Billy said that he has a box cutter in his office that people can borrow. Julie also volunteered to help break down boxes.

e.Adrienne noted that the newspaper recycling box is full. Scott volunteered to take the papers to the recycling center.

f.Scott noted that Bud had compiled a list of green office efforts undertaken by the various LASO offices. Scott will circulate the list, so we can discuss it at the next meeting.

g.We talked about where to put a community garden next year. Discussion focused on the top level of the parking garage. It is all concrete, so the heat might pose some problems. But, it is unlikely that anyone will use it for parking, and we can drive supplies directly to the garden area. We talked about how to get water up to that level. We will look for a connection for a hose, or a way to transport water in vehicles. Approval from the building management would be required, but we can probably get that.

h.Scott reported that our request to sign up with Show, Inc., for recycling was turned down by OKC for budget reasons. We may be able to sign up for the service in the future, but not until the budget stabilizes.

i.We talked about getting a dishwasher. With no dishwasher, people are using Styrofoam cups. OKC has approved a dishwasher, but we are holding off until we see if the kitchen is going to be remodeled as a part of the Day of Caring on September 11th.The plan is to buy and install a dishwasher as a part of the Day of Caring project. If that project is not picked up by someone, we will buy a dishwasher and install it in September, in advance of the open house on September 30th.

j.Reducing paper consumption: We took an inventory of our paper supplies as of June 1, 2009. We will now be able to determine how much paper we have used in a given time period. It is evident that we have reduced our paper consumption considerably. The family attorneys have stopped using paper in the intake process. They are using the Jumbotron instead. We can also use two-sided printing for intake sheets. Scott was planning to set up all computers for two-sided printing as an option, but that effort was disrupted by the move. Billy will show him how to set up two-sided printing, and Scott will set up individual computers. When we print intake sheets, we will be able to choose two-sided printing, which should save a considerable amount of paper.

3.To-do

a.Billy: show Scott how to set up printers for two-sided printing.

b.Scott

i.Recycle newspapers

ii.Bring in recycling bin from home.

iii.Buy additional recycling bin for office.

iv.Set up computers for two-sided printing.

c.All: consider how to set up and maintain a community garden on the top floor of the parking garage.